


A Different Kind of Song

by zealous_whispers_of_us



Series: The Sea Calls Us Home [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Major Character Undeath, merman bucky barnes, reader is a siren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zealous_whispers_of_us/pseuds/zealous_whispers_of_us
Summary: The sea swallowed her whole, and she was reborn with saltwater on her tongue and webs between her fingers.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Series: The Sea Calls Us Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821502
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	A Different Kind of Song

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. There is a slight TW for allusions of sexual assault at the beginning
> 
> 2\. The alternate series title is "I Aear cân ven na mar" because I am such a LotR fan lately it isn't even funny
> 
> 3\. Her song is 'Siren's Song' by Margaret Atwood :)
> 
> Hope you like it! I thought there needed to be more mer!JBB fics out there.

She did not remember her life as a human. All she remembered was the war, and the hunger, and the men who were raiding her village. She remembered the sweat-soaked skin of a warrior snatching her up as she cried out for help. She felt the slide of his body, his blade against her throat. Then when he had finished, she remembered being thrown away into the deepest part of the sea, left to die. But she was blessed by the primordial sea god Phorcys, a child of Artemis, and was allowed to live. And thus, her life as a siren began. She was formed from misery and blood, and the reward for her suffering was eternal life with the chance to kill as many humans as she wished with no divine interference. The killing of _men_ , for men, were the chosen victims of any siren. Women were not drawn in by their song, and if, by chance, a woman stumbled across a siren, that siren would leave her alone. She had even rescued a woman who fell into the sea after a shipwreck.

Slowly, she began to forget the trappings of humanity, the sound of her mother's voice, and the taste of human food. She aged with the world, hidden beneath the waves. Countless men fell prey to her beautiful song, and she learned how to kill quickly. She grew to love the taste of flesh, the sound of someone drowning. She forgot what it was like to be lonely. Now, she only knew starvation. An all-encompassing hunger that clawed at her belly and made her whine with pain. Humans had avoided this part of the sea for a few years, and she last ate three months ago. She'd had to survive solely on fish, which, while technically food, were not filling nor even tasty. She hated fish.

There were no boats; she checked three times in the past hour. It was dangerous for her to be so close to the surface because the air outside was toxic. Too, there was a very likely chance that she would be spotted by anyone who could harm her. But she was so hungry that she forgot herself. She floated just beneath the surface and sang, letting her voice ring out through the water, enticing any man into approaching. The setting sun shined down on the outcrop of rocks above her.

And there! A flash of something!

She sang louder, opening her eyes. There was a man with darker hair than she had ever seen lying on a gigantic rock. He was acceptable, she guessed. She barely remembered what that meant.

He had yet to notice her, dumb as he was. She could see her song was affecting him as his eyes started to close, and his hand inched unconsciously closer to the water. His finger just barely skimmed the surface before she lunged, yanking him into the sea with her. He immediately began to fight back as she dragged him down to the sandy bottom. Thrashing against her hold, he scrabbled to gain purchase on her body, but to no avail. After all, her skin was as hard as stony coral. She sang triumphantly, mocking him as she brought him up to break the surface, only to bring him right back down.

She did not realize it until it was too late. This man had a tail, and he swung it at her face. She squawked in surprise, her song abruptly ending. The merman twisted out of her slackened grip. She snarled, baring her teeth as she swam at him. Sirens were stronger than mer, especially in deeper waters, so that she could grab him quickly again. They wrestled roughly, flipping over each other. She sliced his side with one of her nails; his tail knocked the wind out of her. He pulled her lure too hard, and she made a pained sound, biting at his hand. He cried out as she ate clean through one of his webs. Blood leaked into the water, making her ravenous.

 _"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible,"_ she began wildly, _"The song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons, even though they see the beached skulls!"_

The merman ceased struggling. He stared at her instead, his eyes growing vast and dreamy. She smiled dangerously. She had only had mer meat once before. It was harder to draw in mermen than human men, so because of that, she was only able to entice a single merman. But that was years ago, and he wasn't nearly as delicious to look at as this mer. 

She dropped the tone of her voice. " _This is the song that nobody knows because anyone who has heard it is dead, and others can't remember. Shall I tell you a secret? And if I promise to, will you come nearer? I will tell my secret to you, to you, only to you. Come closer, closer to me."_

She lifted her finger, tempting him to come over so that she could take a bite. The merman swam closer until their chests were pressed together. He said something in a language that she had never heard before. 

_"This song is a cry for help, my dear. Help me! Only you, only you can, for you are unique!"_ she cried sadly.

His tail curled around hers, and she frightened at the touch, broken out of her song. She snarled and gnashed her teeth warningly. He opened his mouth and said something, but she still could not understand. She went to bite his nose off, but he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers so plainly that she was immediately shocked into acquiescence. She was not sure what was happening. She was not sure what she was supposed to be doing. She floated there, letting him mash his mouth against hers. His mouth tasted bizarre. 

Finally, the merman stopped. He pulled away only minutely, still looking spellbound. Strange. Her song had ended. Why did he continue to look at her like that? He reached out and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. His own were darting back and forth across her face, searching for something. He spoke more things that she didn't understand. 

"Uhh-h- hello," the merman said in a language she could understand. "Hi."

"Why were you crushing your mouth onto mine?" she asked. 

"What, never heard of kissin' before?" His smile was much too pleasant. That was unacceptable. She wanted to claw it right off of his face. 

"Kissing?" 

"Yeah, touchin' lips. Usually done as a sign of love or, you know, desire."

"Desire?" 

"Gods, you're fuckin' gorgeous," said the merman, ignoring her confusion. 

His hand shot out to touch her lure, but he thought better of it and withdrew. 

"What does that mean?" she asked.

His smile grew more prominent, how funny: "Beautiful. Pretty."

"Pretty? What's that?"

"You know, like when you find a shiny thing, an' you wanna keep it forever?"

"I don't know," she grumbled (How dare this mer make her feel unintelligent!). "I've never had shiny things."

"Never had… Hold on, my pretty one."

Mystified, she waited just as he'd asked as he ruffled through a pouch that she had not noticed before. She had never seen anything like it and briefly wondered where she could acquire one. Of course, she never had a reason to have a bag since she had no use for possessions. But perhaps it could hold weapons! Or bones to snack on!

"Ah-ha!" the merman said, thrusting something in her direction.

She stared at the thing in his hand. 

"Looks even prettier underneath your lights," he said. 

"What is it?" she replied, her hand darting out nervously to touch it. She pulled back almost instantly, but the merman grabbed her wrist.

"'S called gold," he explained, tipping it into her hands. "The two-legs use it up on land to get other shiny things. D'you like it?"

"I am not sure. I do not know what I like. It is certainly very shiny, though."

"You c'n keep it."

"Mer are not usually so willing to part with their things. What kind of trickery is this?"

"No tricks. As I said, you're beautiful, and beautiful things should have beautiful things."

"No tricks, certainly, but what do you want in exchange for this?"

For the first time tonight, he looked sheepish. She noticed that his stomach was turning pink, but for what reason, she was unsure. She wondered what he was trying to work up the nerve to say. Whatever it was, she felt like it was not going to benefit her.

"Well, er, matin' season is comin' up," he started.

"Okay?" she said, confused.

"I was taught to woo the mer, er, the _creature_ that I choose with shiny things."

"For what purpose?"

"See, I give someone shiny things, and then they choose to mate with me if they like the things I give 'em."

"Why?"

"I, you know what, I'm not sure. It's just what mermen are taught to do."

"If you need a mate, there are mer all around this area during this time," she told him.

"I'd _like_ it to be you," he said, his cheeks turning pink this time. "Look, it'd only be for a few days, and only one season, I swear. I just can't go another season without someone with me. I don't mean to freak you out or anythin', I just want it to be you 'cause you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. An' besides, aren't you lonely out here all by yourself?"

"What is lonely?"

"Sad, because you have no one with ya."

"What is sad?"

"Whaddya mean, 'what is sad?' It's sad! Don't you know what that is?" the merman twisted his face up like he was starving, though she was not sure if he indeed was. 

"I only know hunger," she told him. 

His eyes lost some of their shine. "Oh, yeah, right. How long's it been since you ate properly anyway? You don't look so good."

"I have not caught a human in months. It seems like they have been avoiding this area, although I am the only siren around for miles."

"D'you need help huntin'?"

"Can you ensnare a human with your singing?"

"Well, no, but I know some good spots for fish."

"I am not in the mood for fish," she said.

"Ya just haven't found the right kind," the merman replied, closing his left eye.

He turned tail then, swimming away from her before glancing back to see if she would follow him. The hunger in her belly was making her act quite strange in that she _was_ willing to go along with this merman. She felt, _oh, what's the word, she knew this,_ like mer, she was feeling curious. She decided to follow him, keeping a bit of distance between them until the merman flipped around in an impressive display of tailfins and long dark hair, and decided they would swim side by side. His hand kept brushing hers, trying to grab onto her fingers for some reason. She tugged away, unsure of what he was trying to do. She still had not yet decided if she wanted to mate with him anyway. Sirens did not mate in the same way that mer did, that much she knew. They called it breeding, and it was over in a frenzy of teeth and claws. There were no gifts of shiny things or 'kisses.' 

"What's yer name?" the merman asked.

The question stunned her and shamed her all at the same moment. She could not remember what her name was before. And she had no use for a name now. No one else called to her. Her name was simply another memory, another casualty to add to her list.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"D'you remember anythin' about it? You know what a name is, don't you? I'm Bucky, for example."

Her hands drifted up to her lips, searching for her name. If she remembered the shape of her mouth as she spoke it aloud, perhaps she could remember the correct sounds. She thought back as far as she could, to the feeling of water filling her lungs, to the sounds of screams, to the smell of a fire burning down her village, to her blood staining her tongue. She wanted to remember her name. She had not even realized this was something she had lost until she needed it. Then there was a flash of memory, jagged, and cutting. Her heart began to race. In her mind, she heard it. Her mother had been crying as she watched her daughter being drowned. Her mother screaming at the men to stop, her mother shrieking to _let go of her, let go of her daughter_ , her mother yelling at her to _be brave, hold your breath, be strong_. Her mother. Her mother, oh, Gods, her mother. She remembered her mother.

Her lips parted, and she whispered the name into the water. The merman, Bucky, repeated it.

"Again," she said.

He did, and _oh_ , she felt something new, something besides hunger and bloodlust. A hole opened in her chest. Her lower lip wobbled, and then she was singing a new song, never before heard from a siren. It echoed around her and Bucky, reaching out to the farthest depths of the sea. It was filled with desperation, isolation, and salvation. But it was hope and home too.

"Is this what sad is?" she asked Bucky, once her song was over.

She felt both renewed and cleaved open. There was a hole in her chest that was not there before.

"Yeah, it is," he answered, curling his tail around hers.

When he went to wrap her up in his arms, she let him, falling into his embrace. 


End file.
